In Humacao, Puerto Rico, Rosa Mara (née Marcano), a seamstress, and Francisco José “Paco” Alvero, a farmer, welcomed Moreno into the world.
“Rosita” was her given name. Moreno was reared by her mother, who was 17 at the time of her birth, in the adjacent Juncos. Trinidad from Spain and Justino Marcano from Puerto Rico were her paternal grandparents.
Soon after arriving in New York, Moreno began taking dancing lessons from “Paco Cansino,” a Spanish dancer who was Rita Hayworth’s paternal uncle. When she was 11 years old, she did voices for Spanish-language adaptations of American films.
Did Rita Moreno ever see her brother again?
When Moreno’s mother traveled to New York City in 1936, Francisco, Moreno’s younger brother, was left behind. Francisco wouldn’t show up for Moreno again until 2021.
Moreno was raised by Edward Moreno, Rosa Maria’s first stepfather, and second husband. She spent her teenage years in the Long Island neighborhoods of Valley Stream, which are a part of the New York City-bordering borough of Hempstead.
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